Computer Hackers and Ethics Essay

In the early days of computing, a hacker was primarily referred to as a computer guru, someone who is extremely technical with a high expertise in computer also known as “Expert Programmers”. Nevertheless, as technology is advancing at a face pace, hacking has adopted a completely different definition. The modern definition is someone who access a computer system primarily to steal or destroy information. Hacking has caused major harm in the realm of technology. Over the years, hackers have become much more lethal in their craft. They manage to break into complex information systems from entities such as banks, government agencies, and private businesses. Furthermore, they often manipulate their victims through social engineering in order to obtain financial benefits. Hackers hold different label such as: black hat hacker and white hat hacker in which all have their own motives.

The word hacking, usually associated with information technology, is a term used for the development of creative solutions for a problem by someone in a non-professional environment. With the introduction of personal computers and the internet, anyone could create solutions to problems in computer science. This led to the emergence of “hacker culture”, leading to the decentralization of computer industry (Hicks, 2014).

Once, there was a boy named Tom Tapia. He was about 10, almost 11. He loved to play games like Stare_Woofs, or really any hacking game. When he grew up… he was a hacker, a black hat one. He started out as just a script kiddy, in high school, changing his grades and charging other students to change theirs. Then he grew more and more intelligent. He learned how to hack in C++, then all forms of Java, then Lua, and eventually every programming language. By the time he was 25, he was a very skilled hacker, even attempted the white house once, almost made it when the daily system reboot threw ‘em out.

The goal is to inform the public of the facts about hackers and the influences from pop culture and mainstream media that have changed society’s perception of hackers over time. I will also discuss statistical data about society’s fear of hackers and how it has changed the perception of hackers. If I can convince the readers that hackers are responsible for many of the technological innovations over the last 50 years, it will help me argue my point and hopefully persuade people to reconsider their opinions of hackers. The ultimate goal is to persuade people to redefine their definition of hackers and hope that society will use the correct classifications when reporting about them or describing their character in pop culture, but I would be satisfied if I could just create a platform for the next step on the road to change. One thing that absolutely amazed me was the amount of new information that is created and distributed every year. I learned that it is important to make sure that the message is strong and loud so it will not be lost amongst all the other information. An argument must be clear and maintain focus so that the audience will not become disinterested or

Almost 90 percent of our society now depends on complex computer based system. With the increasingly use of computer and explosive growth of the Internet has brought many good things: electronic commerce, online banking, e-mail, video conferencing etc. The improvement of systems security to prevent criminal hacker has become an important concern to society. There are many ways to protect those information systems; it seems that the Ethical Hacking is a better way. Therefore, whether to teach or not teach the "Ethical Hacking" as a course in Tertiary education has become an interesting argument. In this article will analysis the ethical, legal, and ethical implications of this issue.

“Computer ethics is a branch of applied ethics that considers ethical issues raised or significantly amplified by computer technology.” Moor (2006). Its been stated in several works that computers give people power, which means people have the choice to use this wisely and ethically. While society has benefited from this “power”, there are still ethical concerns that need attention such as privacy of data, security, reliability of data, intellectual property, and accessibility. Mark D. Bowles, Deborah G. Johnson, and H. Lodewyckx all have given their points of view on this wide spread topic, that all seem to have a common ground when it comes to the basic concerns of ethics in computing.

Many people know that curiosity killed the cat, for hacker’s curiosity is deep in their roots. It started with the word hack. “Hack” was used as a term witch is to improve performance of programs. Pagllery stated that “Hacking became the art of figuring out unique solutions.” and that “hackers wanted to make technology work better….” In the 1970s hackers used a whistle tone for free international phone calls. In the 1980s, instead of teenage hacking the phone network system, hackers began to attack computers for money and espionage (Pagllery). This brings in the DHS (Department of Homeland Security) to combat terrorism, but later to also combat the growing cyberterrorism. The DHS was created after the 2001 terrorist attack on the world trade

Ellen Nakashima and Ashkan Soltani (2014), in “ The ethics of Hacking 101” article focus on how ethics is related to teaching hacking. Famous university professors teach their student the principle of hacking but expect from them in return to be ethical in what they do. For example professor Sujeet Shenoi at the university of Tulsa teaches his students on how to hack into oil pipeline and electric power electric plants but won’t accept students into his program unless they promise to work , if hired for the National Security Agency, the Energy Department or another U.S. government agency. David Brumley at Carnegie Mellon University instructs students on how to write software that enable user to hack into networks. George Hotz who made

Cyber Crime is described as criminal activity committed via use of electronic communications with respect to cyber fraud or identity theft through phishing and spoofing. There are many other forms of cyber-crime also such as harassment, pornography etc. via use of information technology.

In the early time around the 1800’s before computers were even around there were hacker’s. In around the 1870’s, a man named Alexander Bell who was a Scottish inventor and engineer who built the telephone a few years after, a number of young men in around their 20’s were booted of the country 's brand new telephone network by angry administrators (Devitt, M.). The reason was because the two young men were really interested in seeing how the telephone system worked by making proper connections and directing calls to the correct place. In essence, they were trying to hack the system to see how it worked. The reason for this is being thought of as hacking is they wanted to see how it works and see the profits such has there information, and the big reason is the challenge of trying to hack, fun, problem-solving skills and the thrill of the power. In the late 1950s, the computers were so much more different than desktop and laptop systems that most people were use to. In that era, mostly all the companies and universities used

Computer hacking: Is the practice of modifying computer hardware and software to accomplish a goal outside of the creator’s original purpose. People who engage in computer hacking activities are often called hackers. Since the word “hack” has long been used to describe someone who is incompetent at his/her profession, some hackers claim this term is offensive and fails to give appropriate recognition to their skills. The majority of hackers are technology buffs. They are self-motivated and learning about computers is their true passion. ("What Is Computer Hacking?" WiseGEEK. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 July 2013).

The ethical issues surrounding hacking, stem from several sources mainly dealing with order and control, and information ownership. What is difficult to decipher from all the media hoopla surrounding the terms, "hacker" and "hacking" is both the simultaneous sensationalism and the condemnation of said activities. Of course just recently, even a movie was made and was appropriately called Hackers. The term and all that it implies has truly entered our popular consciousness when Hollywood has made a box office movie on it. As the advancement of computer technologies and systems of information become increasingly more and more complex in today's fast paced modern world and said technologies become an integral

Hacking is the process of gaining unauthorized access to information through various means like systems or computers. In the context of computer security, a hacker is that person who looks for weakness in a system so that they can gain access to unauthorized information. They are motivated by various reasons like protest, profits or evaluating the entire system weaknesses.

As the world becomes more and more reliant on computers the computer hacking industry is greatly rising. With people such as Kevin Mitnick, who is known as a "computer terrorist" (Kjochaiche 1), computerized information isn't safe any more. Kevin is known as "the most high-profiled computer criminal and responsible for more havoc in the computer world today."(1) He considered this a fun and easy task. He got caught and thrown into prison, but once he got out nothing changed. Kevin stated that as long as the technology is there it just calls to people to break into it. Computer hackers usually start off young, thinking that it is nothing but a little harmless fun. But as they get older, they realize it has turned into

The term “hacking”, as defined by Dictionary.com, is “to cut, notch, slice, chop, or sever (something) with or as with heavy, irregular blows.” This is exactly what cyber criminals are doing today, slicing through counter measures to obtain digital knowledge, which is then sold on the black market or hacking sites with formats similar to eBay. From there, depending on the information, it is used to open up credit card accounts, apply for government benefits, and other forms of identity theft. The means by which they do this is only limited to expertise and creativity. Once inside a computer or network, a hacker may then let loose his/her entire arsenal of destruction including, but not limited to, viruses,